Canter strategies for 4 yr old OTTB retrain (aka potential runaway freight train)

[Juxtapoze]

I will be helping a friend with her 4 yr old OTTB. Did a quick test ride and there is some lovely stuff to work with. Horse overall is athletic, supple, soft in the bridle, forward thinking. Walk felt great, trot was nice. She did however get WAY too fast after a few strides of canter each direction and needs better manners on the ground. I had to resort to a one-rein emergency stop twice during our short ride. Whoa disappeared at the canter.

I’m a catch rider so I am used to working with many different breeds/personalities and having to figure out horses pretty quickly. I don’t usually have the opportunity to work with horses this young.

For those of you who have retrained young rushy OTTB’s, what strategies have you found work best on horses that want to run away in the canter? What exercises help keep them relaxed and focused (not panicky and strong)? As a rider, do you find it best to go along with the faster canter for a bit in hopes they settle or try to correct pace ASAP?

My goal is to maintain horse’s forward-thinking, but steady her out for her older beginner owner. Appreciate your feedback!

[Synthesis]

I find the quickness is related to losing balance on the forehand. So I only let them go as many steps and as forward as they can hold their balance. If that means 3 steps of canter and then trot or walk, so be it.

[Blugal]

Often it’s lack of balance and strength. If possible, let her canter on a huge circle or around the outside of the ring, and do not pull the reins. Carry yourself and let her carry herself. Use reins to half-halt, then release!

Cantering on the lunge a few minutes a day can really help the horse find its balance on that smaller circle without the rider’s interference, and it will help develop the strength needed.

[HiJumpGrrl]

I second the above. It’s lack of balance. No circles at the canter (unless you have a big ring), and small periods of cantering.

[joliemom_again]

Second what @HiJumpGrrl seconds, plus would add lots trot and walk work with changes of direction with a focus on relaxation (for you both) and forward from the leg into a soft hand. It may sound counterintuitive, but OTTBs need your leg to help them balance. Start everything slowly, and don’t work on anything for very long. Walk breaks, and toodling around the ring are your friend.

[ACMEeventing]

Second (third, fourth) what everyone else has said. Spend some time in trot and hacking out to build strength. If you have an enclosed arena, do your canter work in there so that steering isn’t so much an issue.

Really try not to pull on the reins (and especially don’t pull and hold!). If you need to downward or slow, then use a circle ( a fair circle, not a spin) to get it done without pulling. Small checks of the bit followed immediately by a release will rate your speed better than a pull.

It takes time, but with the right approach the rewards come steadily.

[sheltoneb]

While I agree it is a strength/balance issue, coming from dressage land, circle should/could be used help your horse find his balance and build strength. I am currently working on this very issue with my young guy. My guy also likes to canter really flat/downhill, get strong, and stop steering. He also likes to jump really big/strong into the canter. FYI, I don’t have any experience with OTTB prior to retraining and don’t know if/how this would impact the results.

My instructor borrowed an exercise from Conrad Schumacher which is typically used to develop walk/canter transitions but we have modified for trot/canter transitions and it has really helped. Keep in mind my horse is small and handy so you may have to modify the circle size to one your horse is comfortable with.

At the trot, do a 10 m circle and on the approach to the wall, ask for the canter transition. You continue down the straight side until the horse starts to lose his balance/get strong. You then do another 10 m circle asking for the down transition on the approach to the wall. Depending on how unbalanced your horse is, you may only get one or two stride between the circles. You must then continue straight down the wall at the trot for a distance and begin again. You can also do the exercise using 20 m and 10 m circle instead of going straight. You keep repeating until the horse starts to improve.

If you are using the wall, the correct distance from the wall for both transitions is midway between the quarterline and the wall. In case you don’t know, quarterline is 1/4 of the arena. The wall is very helpful as it backs to horse off in a good way encouraging them to sit back on the haunches.

Conrad is very adamant you must give the horse time between the exercises to process it or it will not work. It also must be done calmly. If the horse drops out of the canter, do NOT punish it. Just re-organize and start again. As he says, it is not what you do but how you do it.

My GMO host several clinics a year with him and allows members to audit for free. He was doing this very same exercise for walk/canter transitions this past weekend. It was amazing to watch the improvement in the horses. When done correctly, the horse became much more relaxed and confident when doing the movement.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

That is a good Dressage exercise and one when a horse is a bit further along but NOT good for a baby OTTB or really green horse. In my opinion. Basically with OTTBs you are retraining and rebuilding. They do not have the steering OR strength to do a 10 m circle correctly so the rider will end up pulling and it will get ugly fast.

Honsetly…don’t worry about the canter just yet. Focus on the trot. Getting them moving off one leg a bit laterally—-this is the biggest thing. I currently have a 4 year old OTTB and 5 year old and this is number one and takes a bit for them to get. Lots of transitions…you do not start with ANY sort of half half so you need to break it down and teach them what that is…and you do that with a full transition. Then you can start to adjust within the gait. When you do canter…don’t hold it long. Do more transitions. If your breaks go out…it’s helpful to have walls ( we point right at them ;)…don’t do that with a fence…do not get into a pulling battle. Go back to trot walk transitions. It is all about the basics and getting them stronger and not pulling along on the forehand. It takes TIME.

[LilyandBaron]

Agree with above, and even with my more advanced TB that I trained as an OTT baby, their balance is different from most WBs. I like the French approach with my mare, now that I’ve been exposed to it. Not Philippe Karl (have only seen some of his videos), and not a ton of flexions, but very simply that the German notion of FORWARD fixing everything needs to be modified - forward in BALANCE. Forward when out of balance only causes the balance to get worse. I only chime in with that thought because you talk about “forward-thinking” - all good, but just add balance to your lexicon to make sure it’s not throwing them off kilter. With most horses, a few strides of quality canter are way better than lots of bad canter, but if the horse is tense about cantering in general, frequent transitions can get them jazzed up. So either let them just kind of go along, make it no big deal to canter, or do some canter, then walk on a loose rein and give a good, long break to decompress before cantering again.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

Ah yes…don’t just do transitions in trot canter…too many quick transitions can light them up (in fact that is what I do to teach forward to my young WBs). If you canter, do a short amount, come back to trot or walk…get relaxed again before canter again. Most OTTBs…I spend a LOT of time in the trot or walk. Don’t force a halt either. They tend to be FWD thinking already but not in the way we want. They will get quick and on the forehand. We are trying to teach the how to slow their mind down and listen to new aids. You need to take baby steps. Keep them relaxed. Lots of walking hills. Walking poles on the ground. Keep it basic while you teach them new aids. It is different then my homebred WBs. I have 2 4 year old WBs also in work. And it is just different when you start with a blank slate as opposed to an OTTB that has been trained to race.

[subk]

@bornfreenowexpensive

… it is just different when you start with a blank slate as opposed to an OTTB that has been trained to race.

This X10. Not only are you have to UN-train an OTTB you are dealing with a body that has built up muscling and strength completely counter to how you are now wanting them to carry themselves. They invert and get on their forehand while you want them to lift their backs and engage the hind end. Lots to be said for building a good foundation of stretching over the top line and teaching some very basic lateral responses at the walk and trot so once you finally start cantering you can return to that place and recapture the relaxation. I agree with bfne that once you start cantering do short amounts then back to the walk/trot to chill again before you canter again. At first you literally may only be cantering a few steps a couple times a school.

[Juxtapoze]

Really thoughtful responses and a great consensus on how I move forward with this horse. Thank you so much!

I lunged her today - that was a bit ugly. Again, A LOT of pulling at trot with her head in the air, head way overflexed inward. I only asked for short bouts of canter, which horse was reluctant to do. I hear she has a bad habit of pulling her owner over and running out of the arena. My hope had been to burn off some of her baby energy before riding, but not sure lunging is the answer for this one. We may have to spend some time in the round pen learning manners in a more relaxed setting. Toward the end of our lunge, I did get some nice walk/trot transition work out of her. She is lovely when she decides to get to work.

I think Synthesis (and many others) nailed it with this statement, “I find the quickness is related to losing balance on the forehand.” While horse didn’t feel unsure of herself or uncoordinated under saddle, I could feel that she needs better balance in corners. On the lunge line, I could read more uncertainty with her balance during canter.

On the plus side, she has a nice big walk. She doesn’t feel heavy on the forehand like so many other TB’s I’ve worked with. I think collection will be easier for her than others once she gains balance, strength and consistency. She didn’t race much so the instinct to bear down on the bit and really push off with her front end hasn’t been locked in her brain. She is really light in the bridle and did start to understand when I asked gently for her to lower her poll. She is alert, but not silly/spooky, though that hasn’t been tested with any quirky stimuli yet. She went over ground poles like an old pro. She moves forward nicely with light leg pressure (without being over-reactive like an Arab), but she doesn’t understand lateral cues yet.

We have our second ride on Weds. I’m hoping to set her up better for success next time since we will have plenty of time to ease into walk and trot work. Lunging before was part of my plan. May scrap that since it’s reinforcing the pulling behavior, the opposite of what I want. This baby has too much unfocused energy from a lack of regular workouts.

[Jleegriffith]

Honestly, I wouldn’t even be cantering. I post a ton of videos of all the first rides and everything there after on my sales horses (all ottb’s) so you can easily see our process. However, I really try to get them soft in the bridle first which for us isn’t really hard as we are experienced. Nothing worse than having a horse cantering with it’s head straight in the air because you have a hollow back giving you nothing to half halt and the steering goes out the window.

I find most can’t/don’t canter on the lunge line so that really means nothing to me. Lunging them at the canter just causes more panic.

Our general method is to pick the canter up at the bottom of the ring and canter up to the gate. Keep the reins short enough you aren’t making a lot of moves. Seat stays light. You think more 3pt than 2pt or full seat. You keep your hands low. Biggest mistake I see is people getting scared and pulling up with hands and then the horse runs even more. I try to use my knees/thighs instead of my reins for brakes. Give and LET GO. I know super hard when a horse is running away but often just a few quick moves of the bit and they soften. You can’t lock and pull.

I don’t canter circles ever on greenies to start. They just worry worry as they can’t balance. I focus on going around the outside of my ring and actually asking them to come over the back and adding my leg. Remember most really do understand contact. People forget this and if you just drop the contact they often just go faster.

[RAyers]

A race trained OTTB is NOT out of balance. They are in perfect balance for what they do. They are generally well trained and fit for what they do. BNFE, subk, are spot on. Race speed comes from pulling on the forehand, not the back end. So OTTBs are not just going to accept a new training regimen.

I don’t try any sort of “dressage” on OTTBs until they are appropriately muscled to carry themselves. Like BNFE, that is mostly trail rides, working (walk, trot) BIG circles in the ring, actually pushing them into a steady, stable hand off my leg no matter how fast they want to go. They learn to respond to the leg without the hand interfering. Generally, this can be a few months of quality work where I ride them a few days a week and then let them rest so the muscles can develop.

OTTBs are trained to PULL and the more you pull back, the more speed, the harder they pull back. Hence why trying to slow using the hand tends to fail on them. They have to develop the musculature to be able to push off the hind and to lift in the back before they can accept the bit we want.

[judybigredpony]

Couple of things missed…WALK use the walk to establish your control…teach lateral and 1/2 halts teach walk to halt in a balanced manner…learn the walk sequence under your seat…once your have your walk work in a relaxed manner you can proceed…trot work is hard for a OTTB they don t use that gait as much, and finally most TB who raced are encouraged and taught to relax …into…the canter and gallop…they aren t bolting around uncontrolled…we don t give them an opportunity to relax and settle in our ring work…You have to .get off their backs take a 2 point and use a bridged rein, let go of the face allow them to settle into relaxed stride then you can regulate the speed…use your voice…once you can get them to settle and relax you can sit and ask for more…

[RAyers]

If you want to really understand how OTTBs want to go, watch the morning training sessions at a track. To the uninitiated it can look like a bunch of insanity, but in time you can really see what the work is. And if a 100 pound lady jock can rate an OTTB, well, we need to up our game.

[oppsfelldown]

We would do months and months of walk/trot work (seriously I dont think we would trot for the first 4 or 5 weeks) You need to reset the baby brain and turn on the relax button. Introduce the trot for a few weeks slowly building up the trot time. then add trot poles and then trot poles leading up to an xrail. Let the horse move forward into the canter after the xrail with lots of praise and then bring them back down to the trot after a few strides. Make it no big deal. Eventually pick up the canter on rail (off of the short side, canter the long and then back to the trot for the next short side / rinse & repeat).

One thing not to do - get in their face and hold the reins - you will be in for a very fast ride. If you do end up on a bit of a freight train then go up into a gallop position (or 2 point), put your outside hip forward and use a give/take pulley rein. (i like to use the inside but others use the outside rein). I learned to bridge my reins and dig my knuckles into the neck for support - as per JudyBigRedPony’s advise.

The more relaxed the rider is the better it will go - every thing needs to be chill and lots and lots of “oh good pony, whos the best pony” type talk.

OTTBs are unique animals but they are the best horses in the world. Each one comes with quirks some you can iron out others you just accept and work around.

Ohhh - cross ties may be a bit of a challenge most are tied in their stalls. And dont panic at the acrobatic hot walker displays, you will see exactly how athletic the horse is.

[FitToBeTied]

When I get a new OTTB it is walk, walk, walk for quite a while. Then we walk hills. It strengthens them and teaches them how to get their weight back on their butt. While we are doing all this walking they learn to move off of leg aids and to soften.

Too many people are ina rush to get to al lthe gaits. If you can’t walk then you can’t canter.

[joliemom_again]

Be careful when attempting to tire them out, because that may not happen. You’ll end up with a horse becoming more and more irritated/amped. In many ways, an OTTB can be seen as the perfect old lady horse (I can say that because I’m an old lady) because you as the rider don’t need to do much, just do whatever is needed as calm and relaxed as you can. Scan your aids. Are your shoulders tight? Are you gripping with your hands or legs? How about your seat? Is it relaxed? Are you holding your chest up and using your core? Are you breathing? When you apply the aid and the horse reacts correctly, do you release the aid immediately and praise?

Basically, try to do more by doing less.

[findeight]

TBs are bred to have no bottom…when they get exhausted, they find another gear. Their training does not include much canter, if any. They gallop, run and most have a good long trot if they relax a little.

IMO the biggest mistake some make with OTTBs is ignoring the fact not only do they not understand how, they lack the correct muscles. Trying to force it leads to making a real mess. They physically can’t do it and it can get them mentally lit up or sore trying to force it, or they run out of the ring with a rider not understanding why that happened.

OP says this one has a good, long walk so that’s what I would focus on to start rebuilding the muscling need for riding horse work. Wouldn’t canter for now, consistent daily work focusing on relaxation and learning to relax the body into long and low and the walk gives them a place to got to when they get excited, loose rein walk. Add in circles, changes of direction and halt. When they get that, you can add some trot, drop back to walk if they get excited. Add canter a little at a time. Each time you add a gait, do changes of direction and circles. Crisp transitions are a long way away, don’t force those or you will either back them off or light the fuse. Or both, keep them busy with what they know and go back to what they know even if it’s a boring walk. Patience.

If this one is not out 24/7, you will have some excess energy problems which can lead to lack of focus. Probably going to need to make sure the horse is ridden and schooled CORRECTLY at least 4-5 days a week, they are doing something daily at the track, they are bred to be worker bees and need a job. Likely lunging is going to be in the picture but turn that into a meaningful lesson, they need to be taught how, they don’t lunge at the track, they get on them. Trying to do that in a big area is asking for trouble, round pen or a small paddock or corral is best. They need to wear a bridle and surcingle/saddle to define this as a work situation, not buck and fart playtime.

I like to use properly adjusted side reins on developing horses, correctly used they not only give some control to the handler, they can teach the horse to carry itself and develop some muscle memory to do so along with the muscles themselves. Start at the walk and trot though, no forcing and the idea is to prepare them for riding, not replace it. IMO, many off the track have seen sidereins or similar before, last few times I’ve seen morning conditioning workouts, most have been in some additional headgear.

Unfortunately the second biggest mistake some of those those who buy OTTBs without any knowledgeable transition training make is not realizing the time it takes to develop a consistent program most days of the week and stick to it. Closely followed by not being skilled enough to administer that program or afford a regular rider. That’s bad for the horse who is often labeled difficult or crazy, they get sold along to less then ideal situations simply because of human buying mistakes.

If OP is only working with this one once or twice a week, it’s going to be really difficult. And if the owner rides it the other days, it’s going out arena gate with her again. The owner needs the same lessons OP gives the horse and needs to do the homework every time every ride or it won’t stick.

I wasted a lot of time with situations like this way back when I dabbled at free lancing. Like beating your head against the wall sometimes.